A look at some Canes making big strides. And UM personnel notes and notable Guidry metrics

A 10-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Tuesday:

▪ Most improved returning Canes players early this season?

Cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. must be high on any list. Not only did Porter beat out transfers Davonte Brown and Jadais Richard for a starting job, but he has been very good in coverage through two games.

Opponents have just three completions in eight targets against him, for 21 yards. That’s a 47.8 passer rating in his coverage area.

Porter has played 86 defensive snaps, compared with 41 for Brown (the UCF transfer) and 22 for Richard (the Vanderbilt transfer). Pro Football Focus ranks Porter the 35th best cornerback in the country through two weeks.

Safety James Williams, who logged an astounding 88 defensive snaps on Saturday, is thriving in Lance Guidry’s aggressive defense.

“Last week something clicked with James,” Guidry said. “He made a lot of plays at practice and it came to fruition. He looked like the five-star safety that came out of high school. You saw him flash on plays, hit. Looked like what he was supposed to do. It’s all about confidence.

“James is finally feeling good, like his old self. Had a hell of a game.”

The appreciable improvements for guard Anez Cooper (the ACC co-offensive lineman of the week) and receiver Jacolby George (the ACC receiver of the week) has been a welcomed development. (George’s fumbled punt doesn’t negate his strong early-season work as a receiver.)

Receiver Colbie Young’s improvement from a good player to very good player also must be noted. It’s not a surprise that Young has been productive (10 for 154, two touchdowns). But the way he looks - extremely fast, unrecoverable at times - has been eyebrow-raising.

▪ Cornerback Jaden Davis’ high degree of skill as a blitzer has been a pleasant surprise, because Oklahoma didn’t maximize his skills in that way. Davis has played 124 snaps, fewer than only one other Hurricanes player on defense (James Williams has logged 130).

He had two tackles for loss and forced a fumble against Texas A&M.

“Davis was lights out,” Guidry said.

▪ The Canes have opted to give most of the wide receiver snaps to George, Young, Xavier Restrepo and to a far lesser extent, Isaiah Horton, leaving limited offensive roles so far for transfer Tyler Harrell; veterans Frank Ladson, Brashard Smith and Michael Redding; and freshmen Robby Washington and Nathaniel Joseph.

Young played 55 offensive snaps against Texas A&M, while Restrepo and George played 48. Horton played only four, but one of those was a 52-yard touchdown.

Against Texas A&M, Harrell played five offensive snaps, Smith two, Joseph three.

▪ Tight end Jaleel Skinner remains a healthy scratch through two games. Even with Elijah Arroyo still sidelined by last September’s knee injury, UM has opted to play both Cam McCormick (47 snaps Saturday) and freshman Riley Williams (17 snaps) ahead of Skinner, who picked UM over Alabama and others 21 months ago.

▪ The running back snaps weren’t as evenly distributed against Texas A&M as they were against Miami of Ohio.

Henry Parrish got 34 snaps on Saturday, compared with 13 for Ajay Allen and 9 for Don Chaney Jr. Mark Fletcher played 8 snaps before departing with an injury.

UM isn’t revealing severity of injuries this season; Cristobal has told his staff he doesn’t want media leaks.

▪ Here is how the injury departures of defensive end Akheem Mesidor (26 snaps on Saturday) and defensive tackle Branson Deen (12) affected playing time:

At tackle, Leonard Taylor had to log more snaps than usual (43), as did Jared Harrison-Hunte (47). Ahmad Moten (25), Jacob Lichtenstein (13 snaps) and Thomas Gore (17) played more than expected.

At defensive end, with Mesidor out and Nyjalik Kelly (32) dealing with a health issue (per ABC), Jahfari Harvey played 63 snaps and Rueben Bain 58. Chantz Williams logged 16 snaps on defense. Guidry said Bain was held on two or three plays when penalties weren’t called.

▪ At linebacker, K.J. Cloyd (46 snaps) continues to play more than Wesley Bissainthe (32). Francisco Mauigoa, who logged 73 snaps, has been an upgrade at middle linebacker overall, even though his early season pass coverage metrics are subpar.

Keontra Smith (10 snaps on Saturday) and Corey Flagg (35) aren’t playing as much as a year ago.

▪ Guidry has blitzed a lot so far, as expected. He blitzed Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman on 33 of his 57 drop-backs.

When blitzed, Weigman was 19 for 31 for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and wasn’t sacked at all.

When not blitzed, Weighman was 12 for 22 for 148 yards, no TDs and one interception and was sacked once.

“If we were big up front and stout and they couldn’t block us up front I probably wouldn’t pressure as much,” Guidry said. “But when you’re athletic, a little thin, then you have to do those things.”

Mario Cristobal said of Guidry: “The game is slow for him. He dissects it really, really well. He knows the players inside and out. His impact is massive.”

▪ Cristobal explained why UM added defensive tackle Jamil Burroughs as a transfer from Alabama: “D-lineman, had some good film. I know enough of the back story and people and the place to present an opportunity and take it from there.”

Burroughs is expected to sit out for UM this season and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Burroughs entered the transfer portal in late June following a reported altercation with an assistant strength coach. The incident, in which police got involved, reportedly involved pellet guns on campus.

Burroughs, according to his former Crimson Tide team bio, is 6-3 and 309 pounds and was a redshirt sophomore in 2022. He grew up in Powder Springs, Georgia and was rated by ESPN the nation’s No. 24 defensive tackle in his recruiting class.

Last season he played in 11 games and had eight tackles, including two for losses and one sack. In 2021, when he ultimately redshirted, he played in three games and had two tackles (one sack). In 2020 he played in six games and had five tackles.

▪ Quick stuff: PFF ranks Restrepo as the fourth best receiver, Matt Lee the 51st best center and Henry Parrish the 66th best running back…

Guidry said practicing against Shannon Dawson’s offense has been helpful: “I’ve been a lot of places where it’s very vanilla,” Dawson said. “Going against him every day, you have to be ready for everything. … It’s very complicated.”

ESPN assigned Jorge Sedano and former UM offensive lineman Orlando Franklin to Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. home game against Bethune Cookman on ACC Network.